With the new year upon us, we often make resolutions that entail working on self-improvement and tackling our emotional health. However, it’s important to note that we’re more effective when we engage in good, consistent mental health practices throughout the year.

But what is good mental health? According to the World Mental Health Foundation, it’s measured by a person’s ability to accomplish the functions and activities of daily life. This includes:

  • The ability to learn
  • The ability to feel, express and manage the range of emotions that occur daily
  • The ability to form and maintain good relationships with others

When mental health practices are not our priority, we can develop unrealistic perceptions of happiness that can lead to feelings of inadequacy and self-consciousness or symptoms of depression and other mental health conditions.

A good first step on the journey toward good, consistent mental health is to explore your workplace’s employee assistance program, or EAP.  Many companies and organization offer EAPs as a benefit to their employees and family members. The EAP counseling benefit is a short-term, general counseling service that’s geared toward those who are experiencing stress and emotional concerns. Its primary goal is to minimize people’s frustration so they can remain happy, healthy and productive in the workplace.

EAPs continue to be an important resource for employees—and their employers. By encouraging employees to take advantage of this benefit, employers can help individuals seek peace of mind and achieve greater emotional stability, which leads to a healthier bottom line.

Now that mid-February is here, it’s important to go beyond those new year’s resolutions. EAPs can help us be mindful of our mental health goals throughout the year. We encourage employers and employees to promote and take advantage of the many benefits of FEI’s employee assistance program and its counseling services.